


Treat Me Honestly

by maresalis



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Apologies, Axel learns to be honest, Axel tells Marluxia to piss off, Canon Compliant, M/M, Post-Canon, Romantic Tension, Roxas learns to swear, Roxas refuses to say Lea, Saix knows everything always, canoodling, oh and Roxas has an identity crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:33:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24432898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maresalis/pseuds/maresalis
Summary: "Maybe, he thought, it was time to start being honest to Roxas. And honest with himself."Axel finds himself at the end of the adventure and into dragged into a back alley being asked questions he's prepared a long time to answer.___Written for Bear for the Akuroku Mini Exchange Event!
Relationships: Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	Treat Me Honestly

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Bear for the Akuroku Mini Exchange Event!
> 
> And hey, for the love of god: don't like, don't read
> 
> ENJOY.

_ “You’re in love with him.” _

_ Roxas probably shouldn’t have been standing and listening from outside Saix’s bedroom  _ _ door like he was and he probably shouldn’t have followed Axel like he had,  _ _ but he knew something was going on and with all the secrets surrounding himself and others at the Castle, his trust in his friend was quickly starting to fall apart.  _

_ So when Axel said he was going to figure out what was going on with Xion and then ducked out of the Grey Area, Roxas moved quietly through the white hallways to watch Axel entering the room behind Saix and decided to do a bit of figuring out for himself. _

_ Now, Roxas was sure he had made a mistake. His head was heavy, probably from holding his breath, he assumed. He clearly stumbled upon a very private conversation between the old friends. One he was certainly not meant to overhear. _

_ “Saix, please,” Axel responded dismissively.  _

_ “Okay, then dispose of him. You know we only need one.” _

_ Who were they talking about? Roxas pressed himself closer, an ear against the cold door as his heart raced hotly within him. _

_ “You know I can’t do that.” _

_ “Because you’re in..." _

_ “Okay, okay,” Axel said exasperatedly, cutting him off. “Keep it down, will ya? Jeez, is this about what happened at Castle Oblivion? It’s not like that.”  _

_ “Then what is it like?” _

Yeah, what is it like? 

_ “D-doesn’t he remind you of someone? The boy we met in Radiant Garden?” _

_ Roxas felt heat in his ears. Axel never told  _ him _ about Radiant Garden. _

_ Saix didn’t respond right away. Roxas felt the suspicion in his silence. _

_ “I didn’t know you remembered that,” Saix responded so quietly Roxas almost missed it. _

_ “Yeah!” Axel didn’t seem to pick up on Saix’s change in tone and stammered excitedly. “I-it’s just that he reminds me a lot of him.” Axel didn’t seem to hold his voice with conviction. “I’m not in  _ love _ with Roxas.” _

_ Roxas’ heart plummeted into his stomach like an anchor dragging him down into the sea. He stumbled away from the door and fell to the floor, both from the loud echo of his name coming from Axel  _ **like that** _ and the panic of hearing footsteps approaching the door. _

_ He opened a dark corridor and vanished within it and out of sight. _

_ He was back in his room now, tears pricking the lids of his eyes. He blinked furiously, shedding a few, as he picked himself off the floor and grabbed what little things he had in his room. _

_ With Xion gone and Axel beyond trust, he was going to make his way out of The World That Never Was and find the truth _ _ — _ _ whether he liked it or not. _

* * *

  
  


The Keyblade War was finally over and an energy washed over them that was unparalleled to anything they had experienced before — like the last days of summer vacation spent at the beach. 

They had all made their way back to Radiant Garden on the gummiship and were piling out of the crowded cockpit and into the courtyard. Axel emerged last from the ship and into the soft light of the Gardens. The air was cool and crisp as if daylight had just broken, and he felt the scent of fresh orchids wave over him. 

_ This was peace _ , he thought. 

Everyone was huddled together in groups, sharing the excitement of everything they had gone through, with others planning the next course of action to assist Sora and Kairi. Axel made his way down into the group, scanning the crowd for his best friend. He spotted him amongst some of the older Masters.

“Roxas, there you are.” Axel reached out to put a hand on the shoulder of the blond who was turned away from him, only to realize it was the look-a-like. “Oh, sorry Ven.”

“Hey, Lea!” Ventus beamed back at him. “Y’know, that’s the third time now that you’ve made that mistake!” Ventus chortled.

Axel offered a half-smile but didn’t respond. He was back to scanning the crowd. He and Roxas had only been sharing glances since their tearful reunion with Xion. He didn’t expect that when he met eyes with Roxas again for the hundredth time since his heroic arrival during the fight with Xemnas, that he would be staring daggers into him. 

Axel grinned and waved half-heartedly.  _ What was his problem? _

Roxas beelined across the crowd to meet them. 

“Hey, Roxas!” Ventus beamed another winning smile at him. Roxas did little to acknowledge him.

“Excuse us,” Roxas deadpanned, eyes still on Axel. 

Amidst the commotion and celebration, Roxas grabbed Axel by the wrist and dragged him along and out of the crowd.

“Woah, Rox. Slow down.”

The look on his face was sour as he led them down and out of the courtyard and into one of the alleys. 

“Hey, if you wanted me to follow you, you just had to ask. No need to be rough with the merchandise.”

Roxas stopped and turned around to face Axel. “I’m not  _ him. _ ”

“What?”

“That Ventus guy. That’s not me.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? Because that’s about the hundredth time you’ve made that mistake since I got here.”

“Third, actually.”

Roxas’ glare lowered.

“What! He said the same thing!” Roxas’ eyes practically rolled into the back of his head. Whatever Axel was saying, it wasn’t helping. “Roxas, what? Did you really pull me all the way out here to tell me that.”

Roxas looked as if he was trying to decide what to tell Axel. He let out a sigh and his features softened.

“Who is Ventus to you?”

“Why?” A sly smile fell on Axel’s face. “You jealous?”

Roxas’ eyes flickered with rage.

_ Too soon for jokes, I guess,  _ Axel thought.

“Axel, I didn’t save your ass so that you could continue to keep secrets from me. For once in your life,” Roxas' eyes flicked downcast before he looked up at Axel with soft, worn blue eyes. “Be honest with me.”

* * *

_ “You’re a very good liar.” Marluxia cooed. _

_ “Piss off, Mar.” Axel dismissed. He had barely been back five minutes from a round with Sora and the echoing in Castle Oblivion’s long hallways was giving him the onset of a migraine. Why did he agree to come here again? _

_ “It’s fun to watch you let the keybearer believe that what he’s doing is good.”  _

_ “It’s fun to watch you believe what  _ you’re _ doing is good.”  _

_ Marluxia scoffed at what Axel knew was a pretty weak comeback. If he had a heart, he decided, it just wasn’t it in. _

_ “Roses always look so beautiful,” Marluxia was now thumbing the flower between his fingers as he spoke to Axel, “but at the end of the day, they’re full of thorns. If you’re not careful, Axel, you’re going to cause more trouble than you’re worth.” _

_ “Is that a threat?”  _

_ “Not at all,” Marluxia waved him off. “I just wouldn’t want Lord Xemnas to hear that you’ve ruined our little peony.” Axel turned his back on him for a moment and imitated a gag. If he had to hear another floral-entendre, he was going to book himself a one way trip out of this hellhole. _

Just wait until you hear what Lord Xemnas has planned for you,  _ he thought. _

_ “I’m not sure what your motive is here, Marluxia, but we’re all in this together,” he said instead. _

_ “Is that from the same little pep talk you give Number Thirteen?” _

_ Axel shot him a glance. Flower Boy was really pushing his buttons today. He couldn’t wait to dispose of his pompous ass. Maybe he should do it right now and end this whole charade. _

_ “Don’t look so wilted, Number Eight. You almost had me believing you could  _ feel _ for that brat!” Marluxia let out a hearty laugh. _

_ Axel felt heat in his hands and saw red in his eyes as he threw Marluxia up against the wall, a chakram defensively by his side in one hand and the forearm of the other pinning him flat. _

_ “A good liar,” Marluxia said breathlessly at the assault, “but you wear your heart on your sleeve. I didn’t realize you cared so much for the boy.”  _

_ “You will stay out of any matter involving Roxas,” Axel spat. “That is an order from a superior.” _

_ “Need I remind you who was sent to lead Castle Oblivion? The only superior here is me.” _

_ The longer Axel spent within these white walls, he realized more and more why Xemnas and Saix wanted Marluxia gone. Axel let go of the other, giving him one last shove to the wall.  _

_ “Well that was a bit unnecessary,” Marluxia said more to himself as he brushed off.  _

_ “Follow the plan, Marluxia, or I swear to god.” Axel pointed at him but didn’t have much else to say. He opened a dark corridor and left Marluxia to brood over the threat to his so-called power.  _

_ When he was finally alone in a quiet, white corridor, Axel materialized his two chakrams and hurled them up against the wall, shouting loudly as he did. He repeated this several times until he felt the release of  _ whatever _ it was that was stirring inside him.  _

_ He wasn’t  _ lying _ to Roxas. He was helping him. And what helped him was to know as little as possible about what was going on.  _

_ He thought of Roxas’ smile greeting him every day at the clocktower and he felt a swell in his chest.  _

_ He really did wear his heart on his sleeve, didn’t he? _

_ He removed the chakrams from the wall one last time and dispelled them. It was true. He did care about Roxas, Axel decided. Probably more than he was willing to admit.  _

_ Maybe, he thought, it was time to start being honest with Roxas. And honest with himself.  _

  
  


* * *

He hadn’t been honest much in his life. 

He was trying to avoid that part of his heart. 

And honestly, he still wasn’t sure if he was ready to share that part of his heart with anyone.

“He’s from Radiant Garden, or at least that’s where we met him.”

“We?”

“Me and Isa.”

Roxas’ pout that had lifted was back with a vengeance. 

“Why do you care so much?” Axel could feel the anxiety in him begin to rise.

“I don’t know! Maybe it’s because I spent all that time trying to rid myself of Sora and just be my own person and for what? Just to come here and realize I’m some copy of another guy? I kept running and running and running and I got nowhere.”

“But you’re back.”

“Sure, but…”

“No buts!” Axel frustratedly cut him off. “Roxas, I spent so much time and energy trying to find  _ you _ , to get  _ you _ back. Not him, not anyone else. You.”

Roxas was quiet, so Axel continued.

“I shouldn’t have let you go when you decided to leave — ”

“That wasn’t your choice to make!” Roxas protested.

“Will you let me finish?” Axel snapped back.

Roxas sighed hautly and crossed his arms at his chest. By the way he dropped the intense eye contact, Axel figured he was fighting a losing battle. If there was ever a time to be honest, it was now. 

“I regret everything I did — everything I said. You trusted me and c-cared for me! When no one else did! And I was so caught up in my own plans that I couldn’t see how much I was hurting you and Xion. I thought I had it all under control and I didn’t. You want my honesty?” Axel paused and he realized Roxas was watching him intently. “I wish I had thrown it all away and followed you that night. Maybe I could have protected you from all this.”

“I didn’t need saving.” Roxas huffed.

“Yeah, that’s probably true.” Axel let out a half-hearted sigh as a limp smile curled into his cheek. “But I did.”

Roxas eyed him skeptically. 

“You were everything I wanted out of being human again and I threw that all away.” Axel felt his entire body swell with emotion as he spoke candidly now with his  _ best friend _ . “And for what? A chance at freedom from the hell we were living in? Maybe if I had just gone with you… maybe we could have made something of ourselves. I was running around chasing this freedom by becoming someone I wasn’t and I just felt so…”

Axel barely caught the light dance across Roxas’ eyes. “Incomplete?” He breathed, finishing the thought.

“ _ Yes. _ ” Axel felt a lump growing in his throat that was becoming more difficult to deal with.  _ “ _ When I was with you… when I am with you, I don’t feel that way anymore. And that has nothing to do with anyone else but  _ you _ .” 

Axel let out a heavy sigh, trying to forget about the tears that threatened to spill over if he didn’t shake himself out of it. He couldn’t look Roxas in the eye, and as he held an arm over himself, he shielded himself from the berating he fully expected to get out of Roxas.

“You are so full of shit, Axel.” 

Axel perked up. Roxas was braving one of his shit-eating grins as he punched him playfully in the shoulder. 

Axel chuckled. “Not like that’s ever gonna change.” And a weight was lifted.

A moment hung between them in the quiet alleyway. 

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

Roxas was closer now, Axel could tell. Not just physically, but he was suddenly very aware of how alone they were. He could feel a shy blush creep up his neck. He scratched the back of his neck. 

“Is that all? We should probably get to the others.”

“No,” Roxas mumbled. He tugged on the hem of Axel’s coat sleeve. “They can wait.”

“Won’t they notice we’re gone?”

“Axel?”

“Hm?”

“Shut up.” 

“Make me.”

With that, Roxas didn’t hesitate to fill the space left between them. Axel was now against the wall, a hand on his coat pulling him down and pressing their lips together in a mess of first tries.

Axel pulled them apart when the taste on his lips was more salty than sweet. Roxas was crying.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Axel hushed. He thumbed tears away from beneath bright blue eyes. His heart skipped a couple of beats as he held Roxas’ face in his hands and saw the distinct look in Roxas’ eyes that he had yet to see before, hiding behind the sudden sorrow— desire. 

“Ah,” Roxas’ chuckled wetly as his eyes darted away from sharing glances with Axel. He pulled his hands to his eyes and rubbed them. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“Because of how handsome I am?” Axel quipped back. 

“Maybe,” Roxas humoured him and Axel’s heart soared. Roxas, free of tears, wrapped a hand to the nape of Axel’s neck and pulled him down for more kisses— this time a bit more forceful in practice and decidedly with more exploration as to what he could do with his teeth and tongue.

Axel didn’t mind it at all. He had completely forgotten about the others and how they might be wondering where they got off to. 

“Roxas…” he said lowly into the kisses. Roxas muttered an incoherent response Axel likened to “hmm” as he moved his way from Axel’s lips, pressing a line of kisses down his jaw, and found a crook in his neck to turn his attention to. Axel hummed deeply at the contact and almost forgot what he was going to say. “Is this what best friends do?”

Axel shouldn’t have asked a question, because the breath hot on his skin sent blood pounding through his veins. 

“Sora and Riku are best friends,” he said into Axel’s neck, “and after spending my time in his heart, I can tell you, this is all Sora ever thinks about doing with him,” Roxas spoke matter-of-factly and then continued the graze on Axel’s neck 

They continued like this for a few minutes, exploring each other with a willingness they had never been able to express before now. With hearts racing against each other for the first time, they wanted it to last forever. 

_ “ _ Lea! Roxas!”

Their names echoed along the stone walls as the others began to take notice of this disappearance. 

“Shit,” Axel cursed. “I forgot about them.” He ran a hand through Roxas’ hair, gently brushing strands away. Roxas was looking small; smaller than usual, that is. He had his eyes downcast and was sporting another pout. Axel rested a thumb under his chin and caressed his face, trying to coax the sudden change of mood out of his  _ friend _ .

Roxas sighed. “Do I really have to call you Lea?”

Axel did what he could to not double over with laughter. At the end of the day, they were just as simple creatures as humans as they were Nobodies, weren’t they? He held Roxas close to him.

“You can call me whatever you want if you keep that up.” Axel leaned in and gave Roxas a kiss to the forehead and then pressed their faces close together.

Roxas smiled, laced a hand through Axel’s hair tenderly, and pressed small kisses at the corner of his mouth and whispered, “Axel. Axel. Axel,“ with each one.

The utterance sent shivers down Axel’s spine.

“We really should be getting back,” Axel said. The last thing they needed was to have someone find them canoodling. He wasn’t familiar with it, but he was sure he couldn’t handle embarrassment. 

Roxas nodded in agreement and they started their walk back to the courtyard. They had been quiet for a moment when Roxas said, “come back to Twilight Town with me.” He spoke softly when he said it that Axel wasn’t quite sure if he had actually heard it.

Axel considered it for a moment and replied confidently, “Honestly, I’d follow you anywhere.”

Roxas looked up to him and they shared a smile. Axel almost wanted to pick him up and kiss him again right there, but…

“There they are! Hey, guys! Over here!” Xion was waving them down from the crowd. 

… they’d have more than a summer vacation to share.


End file.
